What was I thinking?

Okay you folks know I am willing to help with things.  I have donated time that I should be writing to do two websites now for writing groups.  Lucky for me I am not too bad at this but it does take time.  In today’s world you need to have as many ways of getting the word out about your books as you can get.  The only problem is on working on these two I forget to update my own website or even this blog.

As things get finished i will have more time but it seems like I am doing more web stuff than writing.  I really need to finish up Sudden Disappearances…well at least the writing part.  This story will need a pre-reader and I hope I can find a good one.  I am still on the fence about whether or not I should release it as a single or just put it in the collection.  While this would help the sales of the collection is it fair to make the people who have bought the other tales have to pay for the book to get the most recent?  This is something commonly done i know.  Most likely I will do the collection and then months later put that story out alone.  But we will seen.

I will admit I have taken time off to do things like read and watch some movies.  I am trying to catch up on all the really good movies that come out but as we have to wait to see them I get lost at times.  We watched Ironman3 last night and I loved it of course..but tis morning I realized that I really need to buckle down and do more.  More writing, more editing, more covers, more trailer and more plugging my work.

I have been tossing around the idea in my mind of offering my photos and cover work to others.  At the simple price of $5 to $10 each.  Nothing as fancy as what the hubby does.  Does simply one of my photographs manipulated and the text put in place.  This could be a way to earn a bit more money.  We need it.  So any of you authors who have liked my covers and want one, let me know.  I will be willing to help you out.  Same if you need a book trailer.  I can do something good for you for a cheap fee.

 

Ideas from the world around me

I started the morning a wee bit miffed from the emails from my publishers yesterday.  I thought one contract was over sicne I didnt meet their sales goals and that i would get my rights back to my tales but they emailed me back that they were keeping them.  Even though sales on that collection was more than anemic.  I mean really six total sales?  They should just toss them back and me and wash their hands of that book.  But oh well.  That didn’t annoy me as much as being told I was not doing enough from the other one.  In the old days publishers did the work of advertising your book.  They did not expect the writer to do the writing, editing, proofreading and marketing!

I know very well that the work I sent to the publishers needed editing.  I had expected them to edit them and tell me what to fix to make them more saleable, not publish them untouched.  It was enough to make my blood boil but it did get me working again.  If they won’t give them back and let me fix them then I will just go on to more and different work that I will publish myself.

As always ideas come from all over for me.  Yesterday when I was asked to join the Rabbit Hole well it started a story.  I have 2K in words now and it is doing what is usual for me.  I is spinning out in a totally different story than I thought it was going to be.  Sort of a new world story.  Now that can be interesting and I can only hope some reader will enjoy it when it is done.

With spring being sprung finally I am seeing more flowers blooming.  I did not think to bring my camera this morning and well now that I have to stay inside to wait on the hot water heater inspection (yes a second one no idea why) I so want to just hop outside and take photos.  I have got to remember to charge my batteries at night and take my camera with me when I go out every day.  It is the time of year when I will be getting lots of new photos for use are book covers, book trailers, poem videos and of course poetry collections.  I might not have the best camera but I do take some really good photos and I plan on continuing to do so.

Right now I am jsut sitting here, drinking cold chai and listening to Billy Joel tell me he wants me just the way I am.   I had thoguht I would try to write something sweet and romantic today.  A short story of course but a loving set in the real world type story.  Just as an exercise to see if I could do it.  Looks like the odd part of my brain said nope.  I am the mad writer and I guess i have to write mad tales.  Hope People continue to read them.

Trying to decide

I’m sitting here this morning trying to decide what to work on.  Now obviously I should be typing up my notes for Sudden Disappearances, the new Guardian short story or maybe working on Traveler and getting our heroes ready to take on the villainess but I am not.  Nope I am looking at the five finished erotic tales I have sitting on my hard drive and wondering if I should make up covers and post them up for sale.

Yes my erotic stuff does sell, about as well as most of my other stuff does.  Thing is these other tales are nasty….well compared to what I have put out so far.  They have bondage, three ways, voyeurism and other odd quirks.  Now they could sell just fine or they could make people decide they can’t buy my work.  I don’t know.  Maybe I should put them out under a pen name?  I am not sure.  I mean I have two erotic collections and three short stories out there right now but they are mostly romantic erotic stuff and these, while they have an element of romance are really smut.  What to do what to do?

So much to figure out.  At times it is hard being your own publisher.  Okay all the time but I have had a lot of fun doing this so far.  Small success but still having fun.  The past week I have not been real creative.  At least last week I could say I did book trailers and writing.  Yes I have done some but not the amount I should.  It is the dreaded end of winter bug that gets me each year.  I really want the snow gone now.  I want to get out and take photographs of new stuff and see green.

Maybe I will figure out covers for the erotic stuff in case I decide to take the plunge on these.  Course I could work on compiling a new poetry book too….darn it all so many things I could work on and all I want is a blanket, a hot cup of cocoa and a good book to read.  The life of a writer.

Reviews are so great

Been working my fingers off of course.  Writing and editing can swallow up every second if you let it.  So I was so happy to see I got another review.  That is three in the past week!  And this one was so nice.  The reviewer actually understood what my odd little story was about.  See here:

 

 

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Which is the Sacrifice – Great read August 22, 2012

By Lalo

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this short story. I found it bittersweet. This story touched me. It is well written and well edited. And it left me wondering, which one would they say was the sacrifice. So many sacrifices are made from day to day. It is nice to think that someone would notice this sacrifice of love. I think there is no need to choose. They both sacrificed. The story is sad and hopeful too. I recommend this book.

I hope I keep getting reviews.  My sales have gone up from one a week to two a week, which is amazing for me.  This will motivate me to write more and more of course.  Writing is what I do.  I have a whole scene between two of the monsters in my head waiting to get loose.  I think our Mistress of the dark will be upset when two of her creatures decide not to play her game.

I think I should also sit down and work on those other covers now.  After all I have nine other stories and a handful of erotica to do covers for.  And of course all those fun little book trailers.  Soon.

Fresh and brisk morning

Okay taking off yesterday to read and play games was a good down time.  Needed it.  I was getting way to wrapped up in my storyline for comfort.  Yeah it is a good idea to enjoy what you are writing but you need time to do other things and relax.  Pushing to get your characters through something can make the seem like they are being pushed.  I have the beginnings of a section with Avendale, a bit into her motivations and a bit into why she is so focused on controlling Jeffery.  Plus a few more hints about his mysterious background from before  she found him.  I know having a character who only remembers bits and pieces can be annoying to some but it will work out.  Probably should add a bit here and there about Jessica and Gregory but this is really Jeffery’s story.  There came into being in this paradigm, until Jeffery.
Realized after I had fiished up my spoiled time that I am behind on book trailers.  I mean five whole finished books, not counting A Water Grave which I am holding off for those pics from my daughter.  I need to do them for The Words That Bring Peace, Distance Means Little to Love, The Dream Wish, Endings and All That There Was.  Now four out of the five wont be an issue.  Distance…well that depends on if I go romancy or raunchy.  I dont know but I guess I will get them sorted out in the next few days.  Then a few more covers to do for the finished stories and oh yeah get the paperback cover to work for Endings so I can get that out.

So much to do, so little time till school starts.  Well back to work for me.

Brisk morning lots of work to do

Well the temps today are comfy and should stay that way.  Which is good.

I got a lot of notes written up yesterday and plan on more of course today.  I will be typing them up after I go get groceries.  Chaos War one has topped 30K in words.  That is long for me as my followers know.  Obviously it will need a lot of editing to make sure it flows the way it is supposed to.  Still haven’t rescued the damsel in distress but we will get there.  Not that she isn’t trying to rescue herself, just hard to get lose when you are chained up right?  So it will happen.  New characters have forced their way into the story.  Now no guarantee these fun guys will last past the battle with the baddies but that is the fate of many a secondary characters right?

I posted two new shorts over on Amazon kindle.  All that There Was and The Dream Wish.  The first is an odd little story that was inspired by of all things an episode of Sailor Moon and a painting of a tree in a globe of glass.  Yeah I know I do have odd ideas.  The Dream Wish on the other hand was just that, a dream.  I do get a lot of really good inspiration from dreams.  Which is a good thing since my dreams are just so weird.

Today I do have a lot of work that I should do.  I need to make trailers for the three shorts that dont have them and one for the erotic collections.  That one will be hard, oh the bad puns!  I want to elevate it to something nice so we will see.  I have one more cover finished that I can post up the story to Amazon but I think i will wait a week on that.

Still waiting on the photos for A Watery Grave.  That story is of course the third of the Guardians of the Gate City stories.  I hope my daughter figures out how to get the photos off her phone soon!  I am also seriously looking into a way to do my photos and poems together in ebook form.  There are a few out there so if i can figure it out who knows what might show up?

free downloads and new covers

Well as of 8:30am EST Partings has had just over 100 downloads.  Not too bad.  Actually had one woman tell me that it made her cry.  She was nice enough to recommend some other tags for it too.  Now to just wait for her review to show up on amazon.  I swear reviews take forever to show up.  I like that she said she gave me a 5 star review.  Just a fun little story, one that worked out to four pages on the kindle.If I can keep getting people to read who knows right?  I have anther 15 stories not counting the Loralil books that I can post up for readers.  Course they all need covers and trailers.

I have been working on a cover for Ice, a Echoes of Elder Times short story.  It is actually a simple pleasure to just take my photos and make them into a cover and trailers for my work.  They come out rather simple and nice.  I know people have really liked the cover for Partings and Hope Everlasting.

Well I will finish up Ice and then sit down and do some actual writing on A Watery Grave.  The Mari-morgens are being difficult.  They want to have the take down before I planned on it.  This one may end up shorter than Hope.  We will see.

As for the for real world..OMG a 3 month old baby!  How could that madman shot a little baby in a movie theatre?  That is soooo wrong.  The heat needs to break down south.  So many crazy people doing things that maybe they would not have if it wasn’t for the heat.

Start of summer vacation or MOM I’m hungry!

Well Kaylan is home for the next 8 weeks so writing will be interesting.  So far I have played Minecraft with her, fended off requests for food she doesn’t really need, had to look up stuff that will keep her from bugging me and I can’t wait till she goes out to play.

Last night I had a little writers conversation with two other writers.  Got some pointers on what they think one of my stories needs.  Part I will definitely work on, part um…no.  A short short short piece is meant to be that way.  A bit more detail I can add.  Changing it from two ghosts on the windswept moors to two ghosts in windswept Harlem…no…not what these two are about.  After all a collection of ghosts stories from Death’s point of view… you are going to have ghosts from all time periods right?  I have the two in this tale from 500 years ago.  I have another set around the 50s, then the 80s and another that will be current to date…and a few others.  The important part is how they deal with and understand they are dead and how death helps them move forward.  Should be a fun if niche title.  But then everything I write is a niche title huh?

Started on the heavy editing needed to make Star Beast work.  Lots of errors in flow.  The spelling was not as bad as I expected.  The grammar…well we know that needs help.  Pacing will work out once I get the wording fixed.  Once I do that I can move it on to the actual conflicts and well bring in the battles.  But it will be a long haul on that one I think.

Plan on the read through of Hope Everlasting.  Making sure it is ready for the next step.   If I spend today and tomorrow getting it tightened and cleaned up then I can work Sunday on a cover and trailer for it before I put it up live to be read.  I plan on putting One More All Hallows Eve up for free download from Canada day to Independence day…for the uninformed that is July 1st through July 4th.  Get some traffic on my stuff I hope.

Well time to think about lunch.  The only problem eating breakfast before 6am is that you are starving long before noon.